p2pnet - rss feed: Apple iTunes DRM troubles
p2pnet.net News:- Apple is already deeply in the mire and shareholders “shaken” because of charges that documents may have been faked to maximise executives’ profits.
Now it admits it’s facing several federal lawsuits, “including one alleging the company created an illegal monopoly by tying iTunes music and video sales to its market-leading iPod portable players,” says The Associated Press, continuing, “The case, filed July 21, is over Apple’s use of a copy-protection system that generally prevents iTunes music and video from playing on rival players. Likewise, songs purchased elsewhere aren’t easily playable on iPods.
“The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages and other relief. The court denied Apple’s motion to dismiss the complaint on Dec. 20.”
When France looked ready to introduce a new law that would have forced Apple to allow iPodowner to download from services other than iTunes, Steve Jobs said it amounted to, “state-sponsored piracy“.
And the Consumer Council of Norway claimed a major victory against Apple’s iTunes saying it was close to winning case against Apple fort iTunes breaches of fundamental consumer rights.
Meanwhile, back in the US, just to rub it in, “Another lawsuit, filed November 7, alleges that the logic board of Apple’s iBook G4 fails at an abnormally high rate,” says AP, quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald. “The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple said its response to the complaint is not yet due.
Appl, “also disclosed that PhatRat Technology LLC filed a lawsuit on October 24 alleging patent infringement,” says the story, add:
“The Nike-iPod product in question, developed jointly with Nike Inc, allow runners to keep track of how far and how fast they’ve gone. The company’s response to the complaint is not yet due.”
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, here for the p2pnet download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
Also See:
shareholders “shaken” - Jobs in forged records scandal, December 28, 2006
The Associated Press - Apple faces suit over iPod-iTunes link, December30, 2006
state-sponsored piracy - Apple DRM problems grow, June 12, 2006
consumer rights - Norwegian iTunes victory, June 8, 2006
The Sydney Morning Herald - Apple facing more lawsuits, December30, 2006
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December 30th, 2006 at 8:34 pm
This is why those who stay away from DRM-infested online music stores always win. “There is no iTunes/Plays for (not) Sure incompatibility, it just works. Piracy, the better choice(tm).”
http://p2pnet.net/story/10839
December 31st, 2006 at 7:30 am
“Likewise, songs purchased elsewhere aren’t easily playable on iPods.”
To be fair, that’s not entirely their fault. The only other proprietary DRM scheme for audio files on the market that plays on ANY portable device is Microsoft’s Playsforsure. Apple and Microsoft have been at each other’s throats since day one, so this would be expected from both ends. Apple wants to lock consumers into their own products and services, and they do this by creating a DRM system that they refuse to license to other companies (Creative, Sony, iRiver, Archos, etc.)
Microsoft, likewise, has been using the exact same strategy: To discourage consumers from purchasing iPods, they have licensed their CRAP to everyone except Apple. They hope that consumers, realizing more devices—and more pay sites—-are compatible with this CRAP, will opt for something other than an iPod, and generate more revenue for Microsoft.
This strategy has failed. Now, Microsoft plans to do the exact same thing in a way that alienates everyone else: Their new Zune player won’t be compatible with Playsforsure, and they will instead opt for a new DRM scheme, available exclusively from their online music store, which they will not license to anyone else.
This is exactly what the EFF tried to warn everyone about, and these idiots who still pay a dollar a song—or 15 bucks a month for music they can’t even keep—-which is of inferior quality and robs the paying customers of their fundamental rights (even moreso in the case of videos), which is only compatible with a limited range of hardware platforms—-have nobody but themselves to blame.
December 31st, 2006 at 3:39 pm
To be honest, it is entirely their fault along with a small handful of others. Apple is the aggressor here, not the victim.
The only reason why these digital ties between the song store and the music players has any meaning is because there are laws that disallow the circumvention of this anti-competitive practise. If Apple and other hardware manufacturers had gone to congress and said that this technique was a very bad idea, and explained what it really meant to congress (IE: “Copy control” doesn’t exist — only platform monopolies which circumvent the rights of technology/hardware owners exists), then the problem wouldn’t exist.
Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Macromedia — they are the source of all the DRM problems, not the major studios/labels/etc who are not technologically literate enough to even understand the question.
December 31st, 2006 at 6:23 pm
“Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Macromedia”
You mean Macrovision, right?
Here’s what I know: All forms of DRM suck. The ones who create, put forth, and advocate DRM are horrible people.
However, like I said earlier, it’s not entirely Apple’s fault. Contrary to what you said, the “major studios/labels/etc who are not technologically literate enough to even understand the question” are, in fact, the worst villains of all. Although Sony’s rootkit XCP DRM was created by First 4 Internet, and neither party understood the consequences of what they were about to release, both are equally to blame. And although Sony had nothing to do with the production of the software, they were the ones who requested, approved, and distributed said malware. Other record labels, like EMI, know full well that Macrovision’s Sunncomm DRM software is a violation of consumers’ privacy rights, and poses a security threat, but they don’t care about it any more than tobacco companies care about public health.
Hollywood did not invent CSS encryption, but they do embed it on all commercial DVD’s. They were the ones who sued 321 studios et al (Macrovision threatened DVD Shrink, but that was nothing compared to the MPAA’s wave of tyranny). They even went as far as bullying technology companies into implementing the same protection schemes; in fact suing one electronics company for designing an HD DVD player that they believed was too easy to hack. Now they’re doing the same thing; they’re intimidating congress to make it a law for all electronics and computer hardware companies to create devices on their terms. The Broadcast Flag and Analog Hole are yet another example of the MPAA bullying others to suit their interests.
Back to Apple: Although I hate them with a vengence for implementing the inappropriately named “Fairplay” DRM into iTunes, and using the exact same strategy to lock the Mac OS into Apple hardware (and even going so far as threatening to sue Project OSx86), they were forced to do it. When iTunes was initially launched, the labels refused to allow their music to be available online without some sort of digital lock. When they introduced video content, they were again forced to modify the DRM to prohibit DVD burning. Although Apple played a guilty role in this oppression of consumer rights, it’s mostly due to Hollywood’s crimes.
That being said, we could play the blame game all day and it wouldn’t resolve the issue. The big picture shows us that everyone involved in this war against the consumer is equally corrupt. And yet in spite of that, Apple always manages to appear innoccent. Why wasn’t there a public outrage when they “accidentally” included a Windows virus on some of their iPods? Why have they not been taken to court over keeping their lips sealed about certain overheating Macbooks? Why were they not sued for wrongful termination and employee confidentiality violation when they fired their own Apple Store employees for downloading a leaked copy of Leopard?